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Effects of L‐DOPA on Natural Night Sleep and on Rebound of REM Sleep
Author(s) -
Nakazawa Yūichi,
Tachibana Hisayuki,
Kotorii Makoto,
Ogata Masamichi
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
psychiatry and clinical neurosciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1440-1819
pISSN - 1323-1316
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1819.1973.tb00099.x
Subject(s) - sleep (system call) , rapid eye movement sleep , non rapid eye movement sleep , slow wave sleep , sleep deprivation , neuroscience of sleep , psychology , catecholamine , anesthesia , medicine , endocrinology , eye movement , circadian rhythm , neuroscience , electroencephalography , computer science , operating system
Summary To investigate the relationship between REM sleep and the central catecholamine in man, L‐DOPA 1,000 mg was orally ad ministered to five normal young adults and its effects were investigated on their REM sleep. No effect of L‐DOPA 1,000 mg was found on the natural night sleep. Then, the effects of the same dose of L‐DOPA were investigated on the rebound elevation of REM sleep in the recovery night after partial differential REM sleep deprivation, and its rebound was not only in the 1st recovery night but also in the 2nd. From these results, it is supposed that the central noradrenaline is more easily and rapidly synthesized from exogenous L‐DOPA in the recovery night sleep than in the natural night sleep, and that the rebound elevation of REM sleep disappears as a consequence of rapid restoration of the central noradrenaline. Therefore, one of the functions of REM sleep in man may be sup posed to be participation in the maintenance of the central noradrenaline, and the re bound elevation of REM sleep may be a phenomenon which is caused by a brain mechanism to maintain the central noradre naline.